Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Human Gu
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The snake was coiled up.
It was a massive serpent that anyone would call a spirit beast.
Its coils towered higher than an average person's height. If an imugi on the verge of becoming a dragon looked like this, it wouldn't be surprising.
Mok Wan-ah hated snakes. Who in the world actually liked them?
Yet she hesitated only briefly before approaching the enormous serpent.
There was one reason. Being torn apart by the fangs and claws of mountain beasts sounded far more painful than being swallowed whole by a snake.
Still, getting too close to it was daunting.
She stopped at an awkward midpoint between the snake and the beasts.
The wolves trailing her halted as well. Whether out of fear of the snake or the toxic aura rising around it was unclear.
*Probably both.*
The poison aura emanating from the snake was thick. Even Mok Wan-ah, accustomed to toxins, found it oppressive.
It was no wonder the wolves couldn't approach.
Mok Wan-ah stared at the snake. Even at two or three paces away, it didn't stir.
The wolves still hesitated, refusing to advance.
She had found a bizarre safe zone between the snake and the wolves.
One worry lingered. What if the snake moved?
Mok Wan-ah examined it carefully.
Soon, she noticed rot at the base of its tail, mingled with the poison aura—a strange, putrid stench.
*Could that snake be... dead?*
She closed her eyes and focused on the toxins seeping from it. She sensed the distinct corpse qi.
*Perfect.*
Mok Wan-ah approached the snake. Only now could she breathe a sigh of relief.
As the tension eased, hunger she'd forgotten surged back. Her throat burned with thirst. She'd been running all night, bleeding the whole time.
But there was no ready solution.
She shut her eyes. Hoping that after a nap, the wolves would be gone.
*
But when Mok Wan-ah awoke, the wolves hadn't dwindled—they had multiplied.
Her hunger and thirst had worsened.
This wasn't a safe haven. She'd merely chosen a slower death over a quick one.
*What do I do?*
She racked her brains for a long while before one idea struck her.
If the mountain beasts feared the snake's poison enough to stay away, maybe she could use that poison to escape.
*Where's the poison sac located again?*
Groaning with effort, Mok Wan-ah pried open the dead snake's jaws.
Two massive fangs emerged, and the poison aura thickened dramatically.
She clamped her forearm over her nose and mouth, coughing as she thought.
*The poison sac must connect to the fangs.*
Just behind the fangs, on the roof of the snake's mouth, she spotted a slightly festering wound. Whether from decomposition or from something it had eaten, she couldn't tell.
Mok Wan-ah thrust her hand into the wound and tore at the snake's innards. The texture was revolting and incredibly tough, but since it was flesh rather than hide, she managed to rip off bits.
A little higher up, near where the snake's head began, she found a pouch the size of an adult fist.
The poison sac. The aura alone made her head swim even from a distance—no mistaking it.
She carefully extracted it. More than half was filled with clear venom.
*The smell and aura are making my head spin.*
But it worked. As she pocketed the sac, the wolves backed away hesitantly.
She had a way to survive.
Mok Wan-ah brimmed with vigor. It felt like every problem could be solved.
Yet as the immediate threat receded, thoughts of Dang Mujin flooded back.
Her chest tightened again.
With just this poison sac, she could fend off the beasts and escape Nokgun Mountain somehow. But she wasn't sure if that was the right path.
*There aren't any other options anyway. Should I find the villagers and beg for help...?*
No. Deep down, Mok Wan-ah knew better.
Wandering lost to reach the villagers and return would take at least ten days. Who knew what might happen to Dang Mujin in that time.
Even if the villagers banded together, they couldn't overpower Gyo Buhwa and Jin Ram.
Seeking them out would change nothing.
At best, Dang Mujin would be dragged south; at worst, killed.
In the end, only Mok Wan-ah could resolve this.
She gazed at the poison sac.
*...Can I withstand this poison?*
A faint path to salvation glimmered. But it was also the clearest wrong answer.
The sole, hazy chance to save Dang Mujin—and simultaneously the surest, swiftest road to her own death.
Mok Wan-ah was a coward.
From childhood, she'd thrashed about with one burning desire: to survive. By sheer luck, she'd endured the demonic experiments and lived. She couldn't easily discard the life she'd clawed for.
Suddenly, Blood Rain Guest came to mind.
When others mocked him behind his back as a coward for his brutal honesty, Mok Wan-ah had empathized deeply with his tales.
Surviving to the end.
How desperately her child self had yearned for that.
She recalled the dim cave of her youth.
Then, the image of Dang Mujin who had led her out. Now, that same Dang Mujin was trapped in Gyo Buhwa's cave.
*Can I pull Dang Mujin out of the cave?*
She didn't know.
But what would change if she did?
She could never be his wife, nor even a concubine.
Yet maybe a friend—like Nangong Myeong, Hong Geolgae, or Hyeon-gong.
*Would that be enough?*
Mok Wan-ah answered honestly. No, it wouldn't.
But it was far better than letting him die or leave without trying.
That realization clarified everything.
*Then I'll do it.*
Leaning against the massive snake corpse, Mok Wan-ah unwrapped the cloth from her left shoulder. Blood flowed from the wound again.
She pressed a small tube once linked to the snake's fang against the gash and gripped the poison sac in her right hand. Even a slight squeeze sent droplets of clear venom spurting out.
The brief moment before they touched her wound felt eternally long.
The next instant, unbearable agony crashed over her. Mok Wan-ah blacked out instantly.
All she vaguely recalled was her breath catching, her body rigid.
"...Hah! Hahk, hahk!"
Mok Wan-ah gasped like a drowning man breaking the surface. The venom had spread through her veins, pain radiating everywhere.
She had no sense of how much time had passed while unconscious.
It felt like a blink—or like days sitting motionless here.
Her stiffened body could be from time elapsed or the poison; she couldn't tell.
*Surviving this is a miracle.*
For the first time, Mok Wan-ah thanked the demonic physician.
If not for the poison resistance built from childhood experiments, she'd be dead.
Following Dang Mujin's teachings, she observed her body along the faint internal energy.
The snake's immense poison had permeated her. It dwarfed all prior toxins in her system.
Yet even this amount didn't inspire confidence to turn the tide.
Mok Wan-ah gripped the poison sac again.
Hoo. Hoo. Hoo.
The recent agony replayed vividly—the sensation of marching toward death and returning.
Tears welled up inexplicably. But she couldn't stop now.
*What happens if I die here?*
Dang Mujin would think I just fled. Or that Jin Ram killed me?
*...I hate both.*
Steadying her breath, she squeezed the sac again.
More venom flowed into the wound. Consciousness fled once more.
In her fading mind, she recalled the first poison injection from the demonic physician.
Seven children injected. Five died instantly; she and one other survived.
No, "survived" was generous. The other lasted two extra days before expiring.
But Mok Wan-ah endured. Ten days in agony, body feeling torn apart—yet she lived.
Only now did she grasp what she was doing.
*What am I doing right now?*
She'd hated the injections, feared death.
Yet now, she was pouring denser venom into her own wound than the demonic physician had ever used.
Begging death to overlook her one more time, marching straight toward it.
The absurdity struck her.
*Is this growth, too?*
But no alternatives existed.
She'd neglected swordsmanship and fist techniques, blaming her clumsy body. Nothing else to choose.
Her dimming awareness sharpened.
Without hesitation, Mok Wan-ah crushed the sac. If she let go once, she'd never touch it again.
The remaining venom poured into the wound.
"Huhk, heuk, huhk."
Her rigid body convulsed wildly.
The distant beasts watching slunk away.
Even starving predators wanted no part of meat steeped in deadly toxin.
Mok Wan-ah gathered her wits.
She'd survived. At least for now.
Overexposed to overwhelming pain? Her shoulder wound no longer hurt. She crawled through the forest on hands and knees, then staggered to her feet.
She inhaled slowly, exhaled.
Poison laced her breath.
Her body felt bloated, taut beyond capacity—like crumbling from within.
*I'm heading back.*
Days had passed—who knew how many? Night had fallen again.
Clinging desperately to consciousness, Mok Wan-ah staggered back along the wolf-chased path.
*
Jin Ram leaned against the cave mouth.
Gyo Buhwa was still persuading Dang Mujin, but unsure when she might harvest his seed and kill him, he stayed outside.
He merely waited, entering only on her orders to acupoint-seal Dang Mujin again and withdraw.
After three days like this, Jin Ram spotted a staggering figure approaching from afar.
Mok Wan-ah. His face twisted in dismay.
He drew his sword and charged her.
Her state was wretched at a glance—what had happened? Her hair had turned completely white.
Jin Ram spoke in a stiff voice.
"I told you I'd kill you if you returned."
He eyed Mok Wan-ah. Her gaze still held faint goodwill.
But not her usual beaming smile.
He aimed his sword at her.
"One more step, and you're dead."
Only then did Mok Wan-ah speak.
"Uncle. Move aside."
They weren't close.
Yet Jin Ram clearly sensed the vivid, vicious poison in her faint breath. She'd done something drastic.
And she showed no intent to turn back.
"Why return?"
Instead of answering, Mok Wan-ah glanced at the cave.
Jin Ram sighed deeply.
Killing her here wouldn't disperse her poison aura easily.
*Gyo Buhwa will realize she's fooled me.*
That meant death. A bodyguard who deceived his master had no path to survival.
Whether Gyo Buhwa killed Mok Wan-ah or vice versa, Jin Ram died. A perfect dead end.
*The moment I let the Mok girl go without killing her, I was as good as dead.*
Realizing his fate was sealed three days ago lightened his heart.
Jin Ram chuckled wryly and stepped aside.
"Fine. Do as you like."
Mok Wan-ah's eyes met his.
He read the clear gratitude in them.
*Should've properly explained what solitude means.*
A weak-hearted girl like her might not have dared this.
Too late now. Jin Ram scratched the back of his head.
Mok Wan-ah stepped into the cave toward Gyo Buhwa and Dang Mujin.
Suddenly, Jin Ram wanted to wander off somewhere.
Before becoming a bodyguard, training left no time.
After, duty bound him.
For the first time, Jin Ram walked aimlessly, carefree.
No destination. None needed. He'd die before arriving anywhere.
Yet he found even that end acceptable.
*
For three days, Gyo Buhwa had persuaded and threatened Dang Mujin relentlessly.
Nothing worked.
Rationally, heading south made sense, but Dang Mujin's stubbornness was extraordinary.
*Persuade him till today. If not, use the final measure.*
Gyo Buhwa carefully removed the bound, acupoint-sealed Dang Mujin's upper garments. As her hand reached for his pants, he asked in alarm.
"What are you doing?"
"Preparing before the final measure."
"...You're utterly mad."
Then, she sensed footsteps approaching the cave entrance.
*Jin Ram?*
No. Poison aura hit before the figure emerged from the shadows— not Jin Ram.
It was Mok Wan-ah from the cave's depths. Her hair had whitened somehow, her face brimmed with killing intent.
A visibly thick poison aura enveloped her—like a transparent thundercloud advancing into the cave.
Gyo Buhwa shouted.
"Why are you alive? Jin Ram! Where are you?"
No reply from Jin Ram. Mok Wan-ah spoke instead.
"He won't come even if you call."
Gyo Buhwa sensed the dense poison in Mok Wan-ah's breath.
Crude biological toxin, unrefined by technique. Yet surpassing ordinary levels.
How could a human carry such venom and still move?
Mok Wan-ah said.
"Two options."
"What nonsense?"
"Either we both die. Or just you. You won't leave here alive."
Discussing poison and death before one of the Five Poisons Sect's Five Great Bloodlines. Gyo Buhwa laughed.
"You think you can beat me? I've trained poison arts since age six. I know hundreds of toxins."
Mok Wan-ah laughed too.
"I've never trained poison arts once."
She took a step toward Gyo Buhwa.
"I've merely survived after being steeped in them."
Mok Wan-ah pressed both palms against a jagged rock on the cave wall and shoved hard.
From her torn palms, the bursting poison aura flooded out, filling the surroundings.
She whispered.
"Can you survive, too?"